4:59:30

Since my last blog entry I've done two races, I've had 5 doctor's visits and one job interview. That kind of thing can really take it out of you...

Anyway, as a result of the 5 doctor'svisits I have been proclaimed healthy (apart from my failing eyeballs) and I have cataract surgery scheduled at the end of the month. Yup, cataract surgery two-and-a-half weeks before Ironman Wales. Still, after a rough couple of weeks where my vision was frighteningly bad I can see again! Okay, only one is is really useful, but cataract surgery should bring that up to two. :-)

I'm still waiting to hear on my job interview, and between opthalmologists, rheumatologists, cataract surgeons and optometrists I'm totally over doctors right now. But training and racing is still good...

So what races? Well, there was the Cochiti Lake triathlon, which was a lot of fun, and Ironman 70.3 Boulder.

Cochiti Lake tri is a feature on the local calendar, and I can see why. It's a nice lake swim, followed by a relatively tough bike (nearly half is on bone-jarring chip-seal, and it has a couple of small hills to slow you down) and then a run that starts with a steep hill, continues on false flats and then bakes you alive in the heat. Did I mention that it was awesome? Okay, so there were some timing SNAFUs, but they all got sorted eventually. Also, by my GPS the bike was about a mile long and the run was 0.3 miles short. Everything went as expected really... the bike was a couple of minutes slower than I would have liked, but my run was a 10km PB at 40:42! Of course, the course was slightly short, and I don't run 10km races very often. I'll take it though. It got me my first podium of the year - 3rd in the M35-39 age group, with a total time of 2:27:51.

Now, the highlight of the last month: Boulder 70.3!
I'd been really looking forward to this. Technically it was a "training race". It was my second ever half-ironman, fifth ever triathlon and the litmus test for my Ironman Wales training. It was also to be my redemption for falling apart doing Ironman 70.3 Austin last year.

Boulder is a super-cool town. I have friends there, so accommodation and good times were sorted. The girl was my driver for the weekend as my eyes were in pretty bad shape, and she was an awesome support team and cheerleader.
The race itself was well-organised. It was a lot more low-key than Austin, but everything was done well. The volunteers were brilliant and the porta-loo to athlete ratio was good (except on the run course).

I'll get pictures and put them up some time, but this race had me nervous and I'll explain why. There's a mantra that applies to many sports, and triathlon is no exception: "Nothing new on race day". I broke that rule in several ways: new bike - I bought a used TT bike less than a week before and had only 60 miles on it by race day; new wheels - there was a sweet deal on used Zipp 404s that I couldn't pass up, so I picked them up in Boulder on Saturday and raced them on Sunday; new goggles - probably not so bad, but I have a collection of goggles that fog, so I bought new goggles (a brand/model I've not worn before). I'm sure there's more, but you get the point. Race day was full of surprises.

I actually warmed up before the swim. This is something I've never done before any oopen water events. Still, it felt good and gave me a bit of confidence in my new goggles. They worked like a champ and I could actually see well enough with my blurry eye to sight for the buoys and stay on course. The water was around 70-71F and was good until I got a slight stitch, probably from the pretzels I was snacking on before the start. Swim Time: 35:08

Dolphin diving out of the shallows, I jogged up the chute towards T1 looking for people I knew. I heard a shout of "Go Bike Works" and failed to see who shouted. Anyway, thanks to that unknown supporter (I was wearing a tri top from Bike Works on Hawaii's Big Island). My plan was for leisurely transitions, to practice for Wales. So I dried my feet, pulled on socks. Next step, sunscreen. I got my bike shoes and helmet on and loaded my pockets with gels. I figured I'd start with a gel in transition and washed it down with a little drink, then unracked the bike, double checked my transition area and jogged to the bike start. A slow transition, but I felt happy and relaxed.

As I got on my bike the guy in front of me lost both bottles from his behind-the-seat cages and all his sports drink spilled. Shame, but he should invest in better bottle cages! The girl was here cheering for me too, so I started the bike ride hoping that I could handle the TT position for the full distance. The road quality on the Boulder course was good. There was no debris to speak of by the side of the road, the surface was fast and smooth, and the hills were subtle: false flats, gentle descents and just a couple of steep bits to keep you honest. Near the end of my first lap I was passed by two female pros just finishing their ride, sadly I didn't recognize them to cheer them on. My second lap was good, and knowing the course by then I felt really confident about the (small) hills and corners. After 56 fun miles I got back to transition - bike time: 2:33:22, by far the fastest I've ever ridden that distance.

The run was around Boulder Reservoir. Since it was an exposed course I took my time in transition again and layered up on sunscreen. After the fact I guess I missed some bits, so I've got some red stripes as souvenirs, but I did a decent job. Then the run... I didn't bother to time my swim, and I used my Garmin Edge bike computer for the bike leg, so I had my Timex Global Trainer watch to time the run. To make sure I'd get GPS lock quickly I'd taken it on the bike with me and turned it on. It auto-powered off during the ride, but as soon as I got to T2 I turned it back on. No GPS lock until about mile 4. I even had to reset the GPS 3 times. I'm really not impressed by that watch. So I ran the first few miles by feel, which included feeling the need to stop. First aid station - one portaloo with a green "vacant" sign... except that the lock was broken, so I stood and waited for a minute before deciding to move on. Second aid station... same problem. Fortunately this one vacated quickly and thirty seconds later I was back running again. The lack of facilities on the run course was my only complaint for the whole day.

After the first lap I decided that I'd try to hold my pace until mile 10, then if I still felt as good I'd go for a fast last 5km. The day was getting hot (around 88F/31C) by this point, so at every aid station I was grabbing ice water for my head, ice for my shirt, ice water for down my back... I even grabbed coke by mistake at one aid station, so figured it was rude not to drink it. More calories are good, right?
Anyway, at mile 10 I felt good and tried to up my pace. My effort went up, but glances at my watch didn't show me a corresponding increase in pace. Never mind, I settled into a rhythm and waited for mile 11. My pace managed to creep up through miles 11 and 12, then with about a quarter mile to go I gave everything I had. It's really amazing how good it feels to run fast, especially after that kind of effort. I felt like I was flying when I got to the finish line, a marked change from Austin last year, and I was all smiles as I got my finishers medal, some ice water and went to find shade. Total run time: 1:43:32.

So my race time was 4:59:30. Over an hour faster than my last half-ironman. I'm still having trouble comprehending how I got under 5 hours (even just 30s under), and the fact that I felt great afterwards. Sure, my legs stiffened up when I stopped moving, but I had plenty of energy left and since I'd not tapered for the race I'm a lot more confident about Ironman Wales now.

It looks like I'll be getting to the start line in Wales with two working eyes and some solid training behind me. I'm actually starting to shake some of the feelings of impending doom that I've been having about the race!